ASU – Utah and Colorado preview

WCSN experts Cuyler Meade, Evan Webeck and Cammeron Neely preview the weekend preview on the road over Valentines Day.

As Stanford started to heat up on Saturday night, Sun Devil Head Coach Herb Sendek turned to an unconventional strategy to slow the Cardinal offense.

After showing off his coaching versatility by adopting a fast-paced offense and a man-to-man defense for the 2012-2013 season, Sendek switched from his traditional rotation to a smaller, guard-based scheme to help Arizona State keep pace with Stanford.

Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, Sendek’s strategy failed to pay dividends as the maroon and gold struggled on both ends of the floor against the Cardinal. Centers Jordan Bachysnki and Ruslan Pateev combined to play just 26 minutes, while the trio of guards Jahii Carson, Chris Colvin and Evan Gordon logged a total of 88 minutes.

Though the offense started to find rhythm down the stretch and the defense stepped up late, Coach Sendek will be forced to abandon his new combination against Utah.

In their previous meeting, the Sun Devils defeated the Utes in a 55-54 overtime nail-biter that provided entertainment, flair and excellent post play.

The script will likely remain the same on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City when the Sun Devils attempt to corral Utah Center Jason Washburn.

On January 2, Washburn torched the Sun Devils for 19 points and 18 rebounds while Bachynski touched up the Utes for 12 points and eight rebounds.

Each big man has a lot riding on this game, as Washburn and the Utes hope to ruin the Sun Devils’ chances of making the NCAA Tournament while Bachynski tries to regain his consistency.Regardless of who controls the post, chances are, this game will come down to the end. As Pac-12 basketball fans have come to understand, it doesn’t matter which teams face off – any team can win on any given night.

Keys to the Game:

1. Make Free Throws

Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, the “make free throws” key makes yet another appearance after a dismal showing against the Stanford Cardinal. Arizona State shot 8-16 from the line, and the misses hurt the most in a close game.

As a team, Arizona State is shooting just 62.1 percent from the line. If the trend continues, the Sun Devils could easily shoot their way out of an NCAA tournament bid.

2. Play Big

For Bachynski and Pateev, this game is all about pride. Utes big men Washburn and Jordan Loveridge can dominate the paint, and they did so back in January.

Bachynski has struggled of late, and Pateev is seeing more time, but the bottom line for the Sun Devils is that one of these players must step up and impact the game.

For Arizona State forwards Carrick Felix and Jonathan Gilling, rebounds will be at a premium against the Utes, so prepare for physical play while crashing the boards.

3. Protect the Perimeter

Twice this season, opponents have put up incredible numbers from beyond the arc against the Sun Devils.

When USC came to Tempe and reeled off threes, the Sun Devils could dismiss the Trojans’ performance as an outlier. However, after Stanford shot 10-18 from three-point range, the Sun Devils need to take a closer look at their defensive rotations and figure out what isn’t working.

If the Sun Devils aren’t careful, the Utes could light things up in a hurry.

Matchup to Watch: Carrick Felix vs. Jordan Loveridge

The old and the new meet in a matchup of two talented forwards. The Sun Devil senior has demonstrated the explosiveness and athleticism to make his opponents pay on a nightly basis while Loveridge has quietly assembled a solid freshman campaign.

Despite the gap in their grade level, each team relies heavily on consistent production from the forward position. If Felix can slow Loveridge, the Sun Devils should have enough firepower to pull out a victory. If Loveridge can keep Felix at bay, the Utes might just sneak away with the win.

Tip-off for the game is at 6 p.m. on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City.

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